1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a reel slitting device for a material web. The reel slitting device includes a slitting station for slitting the material web into partial webs and a winding station to wind the partial webs into partial web rolls. The winding station includes at least two winding position groups having winding units located at a distance from each other and with a gap between adjacent partial web rolls in a same winding position group. The winding station also includes a guide device for guiding the partial webs between the slitting station and the winding position groups.
2. Discussion of Background Information
Paper webs are often produced in widths that are larger than those required by a subsequent processor or user, i.e., modern paper machines produce paper webs having working widths of up to 10 m. However, printers and other subsequent processors (consumers) of the paper webs generally require more manageable paper web widths in a range of 0.4 to 3.8 m.
For this reason, paper webs are slit into desired widths in one of the last production steps. In this manner, partial webs are formed, and each partial web is separately rolled into a partial web roll. In winding the partial web rolls, it has proven advantageous to divide the winding units into at least two groups so that the partial web rolls in each group are arranged essentially coaxially. Further, the partial web rolls in both groups are staggered opposite each other to form a gap between individual partial web rolls in a same group. In this manner, holding elements may be located within the gaps. Because the partial web rolls are wound in winding positions that are arranged in groups, these arrangements are generally referred to as "winding position groups".
In order to supply the partial webs to corresponding partial web rolls in the winding position groups, a guide device is necessary. In particular, at the beginning of the winding process, the guide device must ensure that partial webs are supplied or guided to the "correct" winding position. Such guide devices are known in the art for guiding adjacent partial webs in varying or different directions.
In many cases, a reel slitting device is to be provided to produce partial webs having varying or different widths. To provide the necessary slitting of the web, the reel slitting device includes a slitting station having displaceable knives that are located at positions along the width of the web that correspond to the desired widths of the partial web rolls. Further, in the winding station, the winding units must be appropriately oriented in the width direction, so that the partial webs can be wound with as little expenditure as possible. Likewise, the guide device must be arranged to guide the appropriate widths of the partial webs to the winding device. Thus, the guide device must be adapted to the various widths of the partial webs to be produced. However, adapting the guide device for the various widths of the partial webs is more difficult than adjusting the slitting device or the winding device, because the guide device operates over the entire width of the partial web. Thus, in addition to being adjustable to change position, the guide device must have a working width that is adjustable to accommodate the width of the partial web to be guided. Thus, changing a roll cycle, i.e., changing the widths of the partial web rolls, generally requires a considerable expenditure. However, such changes are necessary in order to provide flexibility in production to meet the demands of consumers that require specific roll widths.